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I do not recall any of my down equipment or clothing ever having this odor, including a down jacket back in the 60's that had been soaked many times. To date I have only aired out my jrb tq and uq after a weeks exposier to humid (rainy) conditions and they don't smell. mtc

I suspect you are seeing the difference in care prepping the down by the supplier. Too dirty and it smells. Too clean and it breaks down.

It is interesting in that one way to make down puffier was to dry clean it. The solvent stripped the oils in the down and it became very puffy but broke down fairly rapidly. That is where the warnings about how it is cleaned comes from. I assume the industry checks for this now or the Chinese would be doing it to increase profits. That leaves me thinking their answer is just enough cleaning to get to loft specs. Since cleaning costs money I would expect some sharp folks figured out what class of down gave the highest profit and that is what they produce. I know that is done in similar industries like grape and olive extracts.

same here. Does this have anything to do with the down the distributor is using? I know there was recently an adjustment in the availability of the 900fp stuff, maybe they're sourcing from somewhere else (the distributor, not HG)

We have three HG quilts at our house, including a 20* Burrow that gets used almost daily as a couch top quilt. Never noticed a smell from it or the underquilts. I'll ask my son, as he's been out in some pretty damp conditions with the Burrow.

"We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it; we go to smooth it." -- Nessmuk

Why do some down filled products on the market have and odor to them?
Products that have an "odor" are made with down fill that has not been cleaned properly. If a product has an odor, it is not truly “hypoallergenic”, even though some companies will claim it to be. Many companies simply spray chemicals onto their down fill and claim that they are “hypoallergenic”. These chemicals just mask the allergy causing dust mites and do not last forever. The only real way to get a true hypoallergenic down fill is to thoroughly clean the down. (See also "Turbidity and Oxygen #)